[Discovering Japan Through the Eyes of Japanese Influencers] Recommended Trips by Rail in Japan

The Tokaido Shinkansen and Mt. Fuji, which is visible through the windows inside the train.

MIYAMURA Kazuo is professor emeritus at Tokyo University of Science and also has an in-depth knowledge of Japan’s railways. In this month’s issue, we asked him to talk about his recommendations for train trips in Japan.

In Japan, railways are one of the main modes of transportation for both long and short distance trips, and it is a well-known fact that passengers at terminal stations in Japan number much higher than those of other countries. Here are some recommendations for fun train trips on Japanese railways.

Yamanote Line (metropolitan loop line)

The Yamanote Line is a loop line that connects Tokyo’s major terminal stations. Over the course of a one-hour ride, its passengers can observe the scenery of central Tokyo, a metropolis lined with skyscrapers. Stations on this line include Shinjuku Station, which was recognized by Guinness World Records™ in 2022 as the world’s busiest station, with an average of 2.7 million passengers per day according to the statistics, as well as Shibuya and Ikebukuro Stations, which are popular with tourists from overseas. However, these stations become extremely crowded during weekday morning and evening rush hours, and caution should be exercised when using the stations during these times.

JR Shinkansen bullet trains (Tokaido and Joetsu)

Passengers can efficiently enjoy Japan’s diverse scenery from Shinkansen windows while traveling between cities at speeds of over 200 km/h. Mt. Fuji (3,776 meters above sea level), a World Heritage Site, can be seen on a clear day from the windows of the Tokaido Shinkansen that connects Tokyo and Osaka. This line also provides access to the five major Japanese cities of Tokyo, Yokohama (Kanagawa Prefecture), Nagoya (Aichi Prefecture), Kyoto City and Osaka City in a short time. For example, the Nozomi Shinkansen covers the trip from Tokyo to Osaka (Tokyo Station to Shin-Osaka Station) in about 2 hours and 30 minutes.

My most highly recommended Shinkansen trip is a ride on the Joetsu Shinkansen in winter. During the roughly two-hour trip from Tokyo Station to Niigata Station, the scenery changes dramatically after traversing the tunnel through the mountainous region. The Pacific Ocean side (where Tokyo is) does not get much snow, but the Sea of Japan side (Niigata) in the north is a zone of heavy snowfall, so once you go through the tunnel, you will find yourself in a white world completely covered in snow. A trip like this lets the traveler truly experience the world of Nobel Prize-winning author KAWABATA Yasunari’s masterpiece Yukiguni (“Snow Country”).1

San-in (The Ichibata Electric Railway Taisha Line and the JR Sakai Line)

Lake Shinji, which is on the list of famous scenic sites in Japan known as Nihon Hyakkei (“The 100 Landscapes of Japan”), can be viewed while traveling along the Taisha Line of the Ichibata Electric Railway in Shimane Prefecture.

In Shinto, a religion unique to Japan, there are countless gods in each region that are worshipped at shrines. Izumo City in Shimane Prefecture, located in the San-in region on the Sea of Japan coast, is home to Izumo Oyashiro Shrine, where these countless gods are said to gather. If you take the Taisha Line on the Ichibata Electric Railway from Matsue City in Shimane Prefecture, you can view Lake Shinji, known for its beautiful sunsets, during your trip. The JR Sakai Line, which runs nearby, passes through Sakaiminato City in Tottori Prefecture, which is known as the home of the yokai.2 Here, visitors can board a train featuring characters from a manga about yokai created by MIZUKI Shigeru3 called GeGeGe no Kitaro.4 Such a trip offers an opportunity to see the spiritual world of Japan.

The Kitaro Train runs on the JR Sakai Line between Yonago and Sakaiminato Stations in Tottori Prefecture.
Photo: ©West Japan Railway Company

The Kitaro Train’s interior is decorated with characters that appear in the manga.
Photo: ©West Japan Railway Company

MIYAMURA Kazuo
Professor emeritus at Tokyo University of Science. Holding a Doctor of Engineering degree from the University of Tokyo, he has appeared on NHK’s Radio Midnight News with Tecchan-sensei no tabi no susume (“Dr. Tecchan’s Travel Recommendations”) and is known as a train enthusiast. His major publications include ‘Noritetsu’ kyoju no tokoton tetsudo tabi (“Professor Noritetsu’s Complete Railway Journey”) (Ushio Publishing Co., Ltd., 2021) and Zero kara manabu genso no sekai (“Learning the World of the Elements from Scratch”) (Zero kara manabu series, Kodansha Scientific Books, 2006).

1. See “The Scenery Depicted in Kawabata Yasunari’s Masterpiece, Snow Country” in the January 2024 issue of HIGHLIGHTING Japan.
2. Mysterious beings included in Japanese lore since ancient times, which are beyond human understanding.
3. MIZUKI Shigeru (1922-2015) was a Japanese manga artist whose representative works include GeGeGe no Kitaro (see 4.), which features a yokai as the main character, and Nihon Yokai Taizen, an illustrated book of yokai.
4. A representative work by Japanese manga artist MIZUKI Shigeru. The main character, Kitaro, and many other yokai appear in the story.

By MIYAMURA Kazuo
Photo: ©West Japan Railway Company; PIXTA

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